No international city can claim to be international if they do not have good hotels. Good meant a minimum of 5-star and most likely an international brand. Nothing wrong with local brands of course but if I am a British businessman travelling to Malaysia for the first time, I would NOT know the local branded 5-star hotel but I would know those 5-star hotel brands that I could have seen or even stayed before in my country and other countries. This is the reason why many would find it more advantageous to operate an internationally known brand instead of starting one from scratch.
Another good addition to Medini in Iskandar would be happening in the form of a luxury hotel. It will be built by Mah Sing Group Berhad and would be called Ramada Encore Meridin. It will be following the concept of a studio apartment with one or two bedrooms. Ramada is an international brand owned by the world’s largest hotel company Wyndham. May Sing will be procuring the brand from them for this new luxury hotel. The hotel with a total of 322 rooms would start its operations in 2018. Location wise, it’s pretty good. It’s nearby Legoland theme park, Puteri Harbour and private hospital Gleneagles just within walking distance.
I personally like hotels based on a studio unit design. Refer to image. This is Ascott Sathorn: (source: The Ascott website.) 
In my business trips to Bangkok, I have stayed in Ascott Sathorn Hotel which is also a hotel based on a studio unit design and I love it. It’s big, it’s fully furnished and you can even wash your clothes and they provide even a dryer! The price? No big difference with other usual 5-star hotel rooms that I have stayed before. More importantly, it is within the CBD area which meant easy access to business offices too.
According to Wyndham Hotel Asia Pacific acquisition and business development director David Wray, the company is also looking at another hotel in Johor Bahru besides this one which is being built. He said, “We believe that Johor has become an ideal destination as it is a growing market as the occupancy rate among other hotels here have been quite positive.” I think what he meant is that there are needs from the business travellers as well as the richer tourists. For this, 2018 seems ideal for this new luxury hotel by Mah Sing. Perhaps a stay there?
Any comments on the better hotels that you have stayed in JB thus far?
written on 23 Sept 2015
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